Oxygen‐Saturated Strong Metal‐Support Interactions Triggered by Water on Titania Supported Catalysts

Abstract Strong metal‐support interaction (SMSI) greatly improves the performances of various supported metal nanoparticle catalysts. Classical SMSI relies on the oxide species with substoichiometric oxygen concentration, which prefers to retreat off in humid and oxidative atmospheres. A SMSI is reported with oxygen‐saturated overlayers on Au/TiO2 catalyst achieved by steaming treatment, an opposite condition to the classical SMSI formation. Through a combination of experimental and theoretical methods, this study demonstrates that the strong interactions between the TiOxHy (x≥2) species and Au surface cause the support migration to encapsulate Au nanoparticles. The oxygen‐saturated oxide overlayers are stable in oxidative, reductive, and humid atmospheres, providing great vitality to stabilize metal nanoparticle catalysts under varied and complex reaction conditions to outperform the classical SMSI.